'Riddick' to roll this weekend; broadcasters get some good news

Vin Diesel's "Riddick" is expected to finish first this weekend. (Universal Pictures)

Joe Flint

After the coffee. Before getting the ratings for the Broncos win.

The Skinny: Given that I am sweating as I write this, it seems too early for football. We'll see how the rest of America felt when the Nielsen numbers come in. Friday's headlines include the weekend box office preview and coverage of a big legal win for broadcasters. Also, the latest on Nikki Finke's fight with her owner Jay Penske.

Daily Dose: Who says cable companies aren't nice guys? Time Warner Cable is offering its subscribers who lost CBS programing for a month one free movie, which is a value of $5.99. Of course, the subscriber has to do some work and redeem a credit code to avoid a charge. How about instead of one movie, a whole weekend of free on-demand movies with no paperwork necessary? And by the way, I haven't gotten my free movie notice yet.

"Riddick" to roll.Vin Diesel's "Riddick" will have the advantage of facing no other major new competition this weekend at the box office on what will be a slow weekend. The third chapter of the franchise is projected to take in north of $20 million and could top $30 million, which will be more than enough to score first place. This despite the fact that the previous two "Riddick" movies have been so-so performers. If "Riddick" doesn't rock your boat there are some indie movies open too, including "Salinger," a documentary on late reclusive author J.D. Salinger. Weekend box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter.

Score one for the broadcasters. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that FilmOn, a company that streams broadcast signals via the Internet, violates the Copyright Act. That is a big win for broadcasters who are fighting such services. The ruling by the District Court contradicts a ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that found that Aereo, a similar service, is legal. Coverage from Bloomberg and the New York Times.

New directions.MSNBC is giving actor and Capital One pitchman Alec Baldwin a weekly talk show. Baldwin, who was rumored as a potential candidate for a late-night slot on NBC, will cast a wide net with regards to interview subjects. More on his show from the Associated Press. Fox News, meanwhile, is adding a new lifestyle show hosted by Carol Alt, whom fans of the Howard Stern show will recall was often the subject of a debate over whether she was a super model or just a model. More on her weekend show from Variety.

Can't they just get along? The drama between Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke and Jay Penske, who owns the Deadline Hollywood site she founded, continues. Finke finally went on the record to the Wall Street Journal to say what everyone has known for months, which is that she wants to get ownership of her site back or start a new one. Among the reasons why is because she's mad that Penske didn't give her a role at Variety, which acquired after buying Deadline.